Any Gran Bahia Principe Runaway Bay Brides out there?

[AngelaandTrevor]

My family did the horse back/swim on the beach in Orcho Rios last year! It was the best thing we ever did! All the guides are great! Would definately do it again!

 

[acw271011]

I would contact Michael and tell him what you have in terms of your group size and see what he can arrange for you. The man is a true treasure and has so many connections it's unbelievable. He actually had 3 cell phones!!  Check it out with him and tell him what you want to do.  I'm certain he'll do his best to arrange something for you and if he can't do it, he'll set you up with someone who can!

 

Originally Posted by GBP2012 

Hello Ladies!

 

Thank you JayKay and erindegagne for the spectacular reviews. They have been so helpful!

 

For all the brides out there, has anyone heard of where you may be able to go horseback riding? Horse back riding on the beach is on my mom's "bucket list" so I would love to set something up and surprise her!

 

For excursions we have approximately 40 guests that would likely want to go, I know one bride has left the contact information for Michael Spencer but his bus only takes up to 25 guests.

Just wondering if any other brides had any ideas! Catamaran tours are not an option as "Sea sickness" runs in the family

 

Thanks and once again congrats!!

 

 

 

[acw271011]

Ladies, I just thought I would clear up the mystery about the clock radio in the room. By now you will know that you need to have a key card in your room to have the AC going. Your power is all handled by the 3 light switches when you first walk in the door. They also match up with other switches in the room. We finally figured out if we had one switch one way, we had to make sure another switch was another way. It's supposed to be convenient, but it ends up being confusing. Same by the bed. There are multiple light switches and we used to have to make sure they were a certain way to turn the lights off at night. After a couple of days you get used to it and figure it out. Plus I think when your key card goes out, your electricity goes off in certain parts of the room. We gave up resetting the clock radio.  I had a watch with me and I would just put it on the bedside table at night to see the time in the morning, and then in the little pocket of our beach bag every day when we left the room so that it was there and we could get just an idea of the time through the day.  Stomach grumbling generally told us when it was time to eat, but when you're drinking you have a tendancy to forget!

 

The other thing is for the Ontario girls, BT television is on the tv in the morning if you're up early enough. In October we found out there was an hour time difference, but once we changed clocks here in November, Jamaica went to being on the same time as here in the Toronto area.  We found quite a few channels in the morning that helped in terms of news and what was going on in the outside world while we were in Jamaica, and even while we were getting dressed for dinner in the evenings, news and sports (for the guys) is available.

[acw271011]

OMG Erin - you looked stunning! Congrats and glad to hear everything went so well! And having a second week as a honeymoon must have been wonderful!! I'm sure Merrick's photos will be absolutely incredible!! Can't wait to see them!

 

Originally Posted by erindegagne 

Hello Ladies!! I am back from our wedding which was on January 6th 2012!!!

Please do not worry about anything!! everything was perfect and chandlyn was absolutely amazing!!! She was so organized and helpful.

I dont really have time to go into a ton of detail but i will post some pics and if anyone has any questions i will be happy to do what i can!

We had 48 people join us for the wedding which made the week such a fun time. It was a bit challenging to split up our time between everyone but we worked it out and everything was great. We had the same issue as others with the a la cartes. There werent many times left when we got there so i would recommend booking ahead of time if you can! We had Merrick cousley for photography and i would highly recommend him!! he was so great to work with and i havent gotten my pics yet but the ones i saw were amazing!! we did a trash the dress the following day and he had so many good ideas! I was going to get my hair and makeup done at the spa but after hearing mixed reviews i looked into other options. I ended up hiring Rashel Edwards and her assistant for hair for myself and my bridesmaids. Rashel did my makeup (airbrush) and i couldn't have been happier. all of the bridesmaids loved their hair and they were both so easy and fun to work with. Also, her prices were similar to the spa! We rented out the pisces restaurant for the reception and were going to have it outside however it started to rain after the ceremony so we moved it into the dolce vita. at first i was a little upset because i was set on having outdoors but it turned out beautifully. Everything was so perfect and i wouldn't change a thing! im sure there are so many details i am forgetting but like i said if there are any questions i would be happy to answer them!

ps...we went to negril (couples swept away) for our honeymoon and it was so amazing!! Definitely recommended!

 

Here are some pics!

 

 

My dad mande the wedding sign that we stuck in the sand

 

I painted the paracas as name cards with everyones names on them and Jamaica on the other side

 

I also made the menus and table numbers

 

for our guestbook we put out rocks and people wrote on those! i love this idea and when we got home i put them all in a glass vase with shells we picked up from jamaica! very cute

 

The flowers were from Tai Flora, they did a great job!!

 

 

[JayKay]

Congrats Erin, your photos are beautiful!!!

 

The excursion to Mystic Mountain cost us 135 dollars each.  That included the chair lift up and down, the bobsled, the ziplining, and use of the pool and water slide.  It was pretty expensive but was definetly worth it, and Im so glad we did it!  Also, you are at the top of the mountain and get the most beautiful views of Jamaica! I would recommend it for sure.

Originally Posted by exquisite02 

Busybee, Congrats on becoming a Mrs.! You wrote the best review I have ever read on here. Thank you for all the details and telling us about the restuarants more in detail. Because of your review I will reserve the restuarants early. Now I want to do the Japanese rehearsal dinner. Do you have to pay extra for this dinner show?  Sorry for repeat question.Thank you for giving us the info for island tours as well. Can't wait to see pictures!

 

Jaykay, Congrats on your beautiful wedding. Thank you to for your detail review. It is nice to read all the different opinions. Sorry to hear about your problems but glad that you are happy being a Mrs. Loving all your pictures an can't wait to see more!  How much was the Mountian excursion? More info would be great. Sorry if this is  repeat question! Also love your planning thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope more gran bahia Jamaican brides do more planning threads.

 

Erindegagne, what a lovely wedding! Congratz! your dress looks amazing on you! Love your idea projects!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you ladies for the answers to my questions in advance!

 

I definetly agree, it is all about personal choice.  I think if you are having a large group (we were only 16 people) I would go with the Dolce VIta as it is way more private and offers the authentic wedding recpetion and dinner feel.  It wasn't very busy in the grill the night of our wedding, so maybe thats why there were no people even remotely close by.  I guess its all about whats more important to you.
 

Originally Posted by BusyBee123 

One more thing about the dinner...I know its a tough decision.  We went back and forth too, especially since we were wondering about Italian food, but in the end, the privacy factor won out.  I just read JayKay's review and saw that she was able to have a little bit more privacy at the Grill which is great!  I'm not sure that that is always the case, as 4 of my guests went to dinner there a few days before our wedding and were seated DIRECTLY beside the wedding table about 3 feet away. And they were not the only ones..they were surrounded!  They found it really awkward to be so close to the wedding party, and kept asking me if that was going to happen to us.  They had a lot of inside jokes and whatnot in their speeches that they didn't really want others to overhear.  Also they were limited to only one large rectangular table.  The advantage, in my personal opinion, of the Dolce is that it is totally private.  There is no one else within about 75 yards.  We were able to do speeches, tell inside jokes and not worry about anyone overhearing.  We were also able to have several smaller tables, a sweetheart table for us, a separate cake table, a separate table for our photo frame matt that we asked people to sign and a separate table for our sky lanterns.  Its a more traditional setting if that's what you're looking for.  Its totally up to you, but that's just my personal experience.  I just wanted to make sure it was known that the other two nights we saw at the Grill were not as private of a setting.  
 

 

 

[Kim Deslippe]

Erin,
Thanks for the excellent review.  It's so great hearing from all you new brides about what to expect when our day finally arrives.

I booked Rashel just before the end of the year (to take advantage of 2011 pricing) for mine and my bridesmaids hair and makeup and cannot wait, she does amazing work!!

If you don't mind me asking, to rent the Pisces, was it the same price as privately booking the Grill or Dolce $2500? and what kind of menu did you have?

We are figuring on having a fairly large group as well, and I would really like a private area to have everything at but didn't really want to spend the $2500.

Thanks in advance!!

 

Originally Posted by erindegagne 

Hello Ladies!! I am back from our wedding which was on January 6th 2012!!!

Please do not worry about anything!! everything was perfect and chandlyn was absolutely amazing!!! She was so organized and helpful.

I dont really have time to go into a ton of detail but i will post some pics and if anyone has any questions i will be happy to do what i can!

We had 48 people join us for the wedding which made the week such a fun time. It was a bit challenging to split up our time between everyone but we worked it out and everything was great. We had the same issue as others with the a la cartes. There werent many times left when we got there so i would recommend booking ahead of time if you can! We had Merrick cousley for photography and i would highly recommend him!! he was so great to work with and i havent gotten my pics yet but the ones i saw were amazing!! we did a trash the dress the following day and he had so many good ideas! I was going to get my hair and makeup done at the spa but after hearing mixed reviews i looked into other options. I ended up hiring Rashel Edwards and her assistant for hair for myself and my bridesmaids. Rashel did my makeup (airbrush) and i couldn't have been happier. all of the bridesmaids loved their hair and they were both so easy and fun to work with. Also, her prices were similar to the spa! We rented out the pisces restaurant for the reception and were going to have it outside however it started to rain after the ceremony so we moved it into the dolce vita. at first i was a little upset because i was set on having outdoors but it turned out beautifully. Everything was so perfect and i wouldn't change a thing! im sure there are so many details i am forgetting but like i said if there are any questions i would be happy to answer them!

ps...we went to negril (couples swept away) for our honeymoon and it was so amazing!! Definitely recommended!

 

Here are some pics!

 

 

My dad mande the wedding sign that we stuck in the sand

 

I painted the paracas as name cards with everyones names on them and Jamaica on the other side

 

I also made the menus and table numbers

 

for our guestbook we put out rocks and people wrote on those! i love this idea and when we got home i put them all in a glass vase with shells we picked up from jamaica! very cute

 

The flowers were from Tai Flora, they did a great job!!

 

 

[GBP2012]

AngelaandTrevor, 

Thank you for your response. Would you be able to provide me with the name of place you went, cost, contact information, etc? It sounds absolutely perfect!

 

 

Originally Posted by AngelaandTrevor 

My family did the horse back/swim on the beach in Orcho Rios last year! It was the best thing we ever did! All the guides are great! Would definately do it again!

 

 

[GBP2012]

Thank you acw! After I posted I remembered it was you that provided that information, I apologize.

I will contact him and see if he is able to help us out. We might plan a couple of excursions as some may prefer to go to the falls, vs horseback riding. Therefore our groups may be smaller! Thank you again for all the helpful information!

 

Originally Posted by acw271011 

I would contact Michael and tell him what you have in terms of your group size and see what he can arrange for you. The man is a true treasure and has so many connections it's unbelievable. He actually had 3 cell phones!!  Check it out with him and tell him what you want to do.  I'm certain he'll do his best to arrange something for you and if he can't do it, he'll set you up with someone who can!

 

 

 

[maddy]

Hello

 

My daughter Yvonne is getting married on April 23, 2012.  She has booked the gazebo for both her ceremony and her reception.  Do you think that 45 would be comfortable for the dance there.  Have you received your pictures from your photographer yet if so could you please post some. You said that you used Merrick cousley, his he at the resort.  You were a beautiful bride. You also said that you booked Rashel Edwards for your make-up and hair, how did you get in touch with her.  What package had you picked for the wedding and for the pictures.  Do you have a price list from him. Yvonne wants to do a welcome bag for her guests (about 45) when they arrive, which is a week after we get there, she is looking to purchase towels to put in the bags, any good places to get some at a good price.  How was the stores on the resort.  She also would like to purchase bottles of Jam. Rum for the guests any good suggestions on where to purchase them.  Thank you for taking time to answer these questions.

 

Madeline(MOM) 

[erindegagne]

Kim...the pisces was $1700 to book out and they didn't charge us any extra to have it in the dolce when it was raining. I was really surprised that they closed out the dolce just in case but i was definately glad they did!! The menu was the same as the dolce. We had the squash soup, penne, chicken and profiterols....all very good!!

 

Maddy... 45 would definately be comfortable in the gazebo im sure...its pretty big! I used merrick cousley for photography, he was amazing but he is not the resort photographer you can contact him via email ([email protected]) he gets back to you very quickly and is amazing to work with. Raschel's email is [email protected]

 

I did welcome bags for our guests, we had towels (striped in all colours) from walmart- they were $5 each. and we got insulated cups with straws for the same price from loblaws. it was a lot to bring down but definately worth it.

 

Not sure about buying rum down there, someone else may be able to help!

 

Hope that helps!!

Erin